Agencies are in full swing preparing for TC Marcia, which is due to hit the coast in the early hours of tomorrow morning.
3pm UPDATE:
Sandbag depots across the State are being inundated with thousands of bags being handed out to residents in preparation of the high tides and heavy rain.
Council's are asking residents to take ONLY what you need, to ensure there's enough to go around.
Supermarkets have already started selling out of basics like bread and milk, with people stocking up for the next few days.
Radar images show things are starting to get pretty messy off the coast. Tropical Cyclone Marcia is still classed as a category 2 system, but is expected to be updated to category 3 before it crosses the coast overnight. Winds up to 175 km/hr are likely.
2.30pm UPDATE:
At this stage, there are NO school closures across the State...
If anything changes, you can keep track of it all HERE
Education Queensland says that list will be updated as soon as there are any changes.
"The decision to open or close schools and other facilities include factors such as current and predicted weather conditions, river and stream levels as well as road and access conditions," Education Queensland says.
"The safety of students, teachers and community members is the department's highest priority".
2.10pm UPDATE:
The weather bureau has updated its advice for TC Marcia:
The VERY DESTRUCTIVE CORE of tropical cyclone Marcia, with gusts to 185 km/h, is expected to cross the coast between St Lawrence and Gladstone early on Friday morning.
DESTRUCTIVE WINDS are expected to develop about coastal and island communities between St Lawrence and Burnett Heads later tonight.
GALES are expected to develop about coastal and island communities between Mackay and Double Island Point this evening, and extend inland to areas including Blackwater, Moura, Biloela, and Monto overnight and Friday morning.
Abnormally HIGH TIDES will be experienced today and Friday with water levels expected to rise above the highest tide of the year on the high tide. Coastal residents between St Lawrence and Double Island Point are specifically warned of the dangerous storm tide as the cyclone crosses the coast. The sea is likely to rise steadily up to a level well above the normal tide, with damaging waves and flooding of some low-lying areas close to the shoreline. People living in areas likely to be affected by this flooding should take measures to protect their property as much as possible and be prepared to follow instructions regarding evacuation of the area if advised to do so by the authorities. Dangerous surf is expected about exposed beaches south of Sandy Cape.
THUNDERSTORMS are expected to develop near the coast between St Lawrence and Hervey Bay ahead of tropical cyclone Marcia crossing the coast. These thunderstorms may produce localised areas of destructive wind gusts in excess of 125 km/hr about coastal and island communities.
HEAVY RAINFALL will develop about coastal and island communities between Mackay and Double Island Point today, particularly over areas to the south of the system. A Flood Watch is current for the area.
2pm UPDATE:
The weather bureau has issued its latest update - Regional Director, Robb Webb, says TC Marcia is around 185km off the coast of Mackay at the moment, and is moving towards the coast at a rate of about 23 km per hour.
At this stage, he expects the system will cross the coast as a category 3.
The BOM is estimating over 300mm of rain for residents from Mackay to the NSW border, though at this stage they're expecting the majority of the activity to be coastal, rather than moving inland. There will be destructive winds overnight, and into tomorrow morning.
If you're feeling a tad confused about the difference in the cyclone categories, here's a snippet from BOM's website:
1.30pm UPDATE - Queensland Fire & Emergency have posted some 'fast facts' about TC Marcia...
12.30PM UPDATE - Yepoon shelter opening at 5pm on Rawling Street.
Locals told this should be a last resort.
12.00PM UPDATE: NEW SEVERE WEATHER WARNING ISSUED
Issued at 11:49 am Thursday, 19 February 2015.
Synoptic Situation: Category 2 Tropical Cyclone Marcia lies over the Coral Sea approximately 555km north of Bundaberg. Tropical Cyclone Marcia is expected to continue on a general southwesterly track towards the Queensland east coast, and forecast to cross the coast between St Lawrence and Bundaberg early on Friday still as a category 2 cyclone. A trough extends southwards from the tropical cyclone and will be near the Wide Bay and southeast Queensland coasts today.
Heavy rain and locally damaging wind gusts are possible from the coast to the ranges between Double Island Point and Brisbane, extending to the state's southern border and the eastern Darling Downs and southern Burnett later today and Friday. The heavy rain may lead to flash flooding, with some 24 hour totals in excess of 300mm likely (mainly near the coast and nearby ranges). Damaging wind gusts may reach around 90 km/hr, mostly near the coast and ranges.
Water levels on the high tide are likely to exceed the highest tide of the year from today. Dangerous surf conditions and beach erosion are also expected on exposed beaches. Riverine flooding: A flood watch is current for the Wide Bay and Burnett, Southeast Coast and the Darling Downs & Granite Belt District forecast districts.
A Tropical Cyclone Warning is current for areas between Mackay and Double Island Point. A Tropical Cyclone Watch is current for adjacent inland areas from Rockhampton to Double Island Point. Locations which may be affected include Warwick, Gold Coast, Toowoomba, the Lockyer Valley, Ipswich, Brisbane, Caboolture, the Sunshine Coast, Kingaroy and Gympie.
The next warning is due to be issued by 5:50 pm. Warnings are also available through TV and Radio broadcasts, the Bureau's website at www.bom.gov.au or call 1300 659 219.
The Bureau and Queensland Fire and Emergency Services would appreciate warnings being broadcast regularly.
11.00AM UPDATE: TC Marcia upgraded to Category Two system.
The category one storm is expected to be upgraded to a category two system with winds of 150km an hour as it makes landfall.
EARLIER:
Brisbane will feel the brunt of it early Friday morning, about 300 millimetres of rain expected to fall in the next 24 hours meaning flash flooding is highly possible.
Tide levels could also complicate the conditions, high tides will be abnormally high today and tomorrow and could hit record levels for the year.
The bureau's issued flood warning for the Carpicornia, Wide Bay and Burnett, Southeast Coast, and the Darling Downs and Granite Belt Districts.
Nearly 10 thousand sandbags have been issued by the SES this week for low-lying areas of Brisbane.
